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Flaming Gnome Studios
Flaming Gnome Studios is an independent entertainment company based out of Owatonna, Minnesota. It is best known for the short film series Vail, the award-winning feature film The Root of Evil, ''the short film ''Sad Waltz, the short Vivian Maier biopic The Woman in the Mirror, ''and the short World War II drama ''Tiger of the White Sun. '' Flaming Gnome Studios is the parent company to White Deer Grotto Motion Picture Co., a subsidiary dedicated to narrative film production. White Deer Grotto, along with several now-defunct entertainment subsidiaries such as Accidental Mortar Fire Pictures and the Films for Fido charity organization, is collectively organized under the '''FGS Group'. History 2006: Prehistory The name "Flaming Gnome Studios" was first coined in 2006 by Ryan Huang and Jordan Johnson during their fifth grade year at St. Mary's School in Owatonna. The duo produced multiple comic strips in their math notebooks during class, signing each strip "by the Flaming Gnomes." ''Current director Ryan Huang describes the subject matter of these comics: "As I recall, the story centered around a nameless hero who navigated through a side-scrolling environment filled with monsters and deadly traps. It was all quite frivolous, but in good fun." No comics from this era are known to survive, as most were confiscated by teachers or lost over the years. 2010: Golden Age of Comics After a 4 year hiatus, the studio resumed production of comics in the German 1 classroom of Owatonna High School. Again, the principal writers and illustrators were Huang and Johnson, with D.J. Chatelaine and Don Zheng serving as a small consulting team. A more extensive and detailed plot had been formed. The comic had two primary protagonists: Captain Combover, a suave superhero, and his spiky-haired partner, Furm. The basic premise of the series centered around the duo thwarting the plots of communist zealot Don Zhong. All three characters were direct parodies of Huang, Johnson, and Zheng, respectively. Although production had been greatly increased during this period (at least 4 episodes were made), only one comic from this series has survived: ''Episode 2: In The Communist Lunchroom. '' Comic-writing operations ceased once again in late 2010, with active collaboration between Huang and Johnson drawing to a close along with the end of the fall semester. Huang was now solely left in charge of the studio and would continue to see the company through to its venture into the filmmaking industry. Late 2010 - 2011: Entry into filmmaking The earliest recorded instance of moviemaking involving Flaming Gnome Studios was in the winter of 2010. The short docudrama ''Gettysburg was a school project directed and produced by D.J. Chatelaine. Huang appeared as various characters in the ensemble cast consisting of Chatelaine, Eric Schlicker, Nash Dushek, and Corky the Corgi. The docudrama, along with its raw footage, remains in the collection of D.J. Chatelaine Movie Company. Upon the acquisition of iMovie, the studio's first editing software, Huang filmed a trailer that would propel the company into the filmmaking world. The teaser starred Huang, Braden Stork, and Pranshu Parmar as three unnamed agents wreaking havoc in an enemy base. Footage was filmed on location at Owatonna High School and edited in Taipei, Taiwan by Huang later that year. Initially titled Captain Ryan's Crew, ''it was revised as ''Men With Guns ''shortly afterwards. In the early summer of 2011, Huang began work on a full-length script featuring the characters from the trailer. This was to be the largest and most ambitious project in Flaming Gnome history thus far, with a cast consisting of Huang, Stork, Parmar, Zheng, Chatelaine, and Preston Smith. The first filming sessions were less than organized, as Huang describes: "We winged it. For the first few days we had no script whatsoever and made do with ad-libbing the whole thing." The result was a series of takes that were dramatically different, and Huang decided to scrap all of them. (These clips, previously thought to be lost, have been recovered and preserved by the studio.) Later that summer, the first scenes from the script had been finished. Full costume was used for the first time in studio history, along with weapon props and sound effects. Again, production ground to a halt. The final blow occurred when Stork moved away to Rochester, Minnesota, making it impossible to continue any further. Very few clips from this attempt survive and the majority of the raw footage remains unaccounted for. The project was abandoned, but a new series would soon take prominence. 2011: the ''Vail ''series Huang recalls, "I believe the first inspiration [for ''Vail] was Viktor Boroshlav's peculiar accent, which had been present in my household as a running joke. The second inspiration came from my role in Once In A Lifetime, my first high school play." Vail: Episode 1 ''was written and shot in the summer of 2011. Huang assumed every position in the filmmaking process: director, writer, cinematographer, editor, and all three roles in the cast. The movie introduced two soon-to-be iconic characters, Captain Levi Vail and Viktor Boroshlav. ''Episode 1 was initially intended to be a one-off film, ending with the death of Boroshlav (at that time the main antagonist). Upon receiving positive audience feedback for Boroshlav, Huang decided to continue the series with Boroshlav as a main protagonist. Vail: Episode 2 ''was filmed and premiered shortly after its predecessor that same year. Numerous short films starring the main characters were also filmed during this time, spurring spinoffs including ''Birthday E-cards from Vail and Boroshlav ''and the ''Ambush: Boroshlav ''series. 2012: ''The Elixir of Doom The studio temporarily put the Vail ''series on hold in early 2012 when complications prevented ''Episode 3 ''from being filmed. After viewing the 2011 silent movie ''The Artist, Huang was inspired to begin a new series with a larger cast and crew. The film was to pay homage to The Artist ''and Edgar Allan Poe's short story ''The Cask of Amontillado. ''The script was written in the first week of July of 2012, and filming was completed one week later. New and old faces had been added to the Flaming Gnome Studio roster. Joshua Dub and Maureen Gleason accepted lead roles as Jean Montresor and Emmanuelle Chanson, respectively, and D.J. Chatelaine rejoined the company in the role of Emile De Grave. The days of a one-man crew were over, with Miles and Michael Mulet handling cinematography for the film. Huang himself starred as Viktor Boroshlav (in loose reference to the original ''Vail ''character), and also directed and edited the 25-minute film. Shortly after the successful August premiere of ''Elixir, Huang announced a sequel with a target release date of Fall 2013. 2012-2014: The Root of Evil Production of the sequel to The Elixir of Doom ''began in August 2012, with Huang making multiple screenplay drafts overseas. Shortly thereafter, Huang announced on Facebook that the sequel was to be a feature length film entitled ''The Root of Evil. ''Principal photography commenced in December 2012. Taking place a few years after the events of ''Elixir, ''the plot follows Viktor Boroshlav and Emmanuelle Chanson pursuing Alfred Kensington, a disgraced doctor set on eliminating his former colleagues and reinventing his public image. Assisting Boroshlav and Chanson is a now rehabilitated Montresor. Progress is suddenly complicated by the appearance of Kensington's American gangster allies and the mysterious Agent Zoltán, Chanson's former love interest. The cast of ''The Root of Evil ''quickly ballooned to over 60 main actors, supporting actors, and extras. Filming was completed at an irregular pace due to the number of individual schedules involved. Production and post-production finally concluded at the end of May 2014, and the film was screened for cast and family members in early June of that year. Since July 2014, ''The Root of Evil ''has received a total of fourteen official selection laurels and ten awards from festivals such as the Colorado Film Festival, the Indie Fest, and the Accolade Global Film Competition. The film had its West Coast Premiere at the 2014 Catalina Film Festival, where it took home the Award for Best Student Film. ''The Root of Evil ''recieved an Honorable Mention at the ITSA Film Festival in California, as well as the Gold Award at the Fort Lauderdale International High School Competition. It won the Golden Coyote Paw for Best Student Film (Under 18) at the 2015 Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema. ''The Root of Evil ''was selected as a featured film and closed the 2015 Voyager Student Film Festival at Duke University. Shortly after the premiere and subsequent success of ''The Root of Evil, Huang expressed interest in writing and directing a sequel'' with as many original cast members reprising their roles as possible. The project is currently in the early development stage. Summer-Fall 2014: Filming hiatus During the summer of 2014, a new short film titled ''The Sessions was written by Ryan Alexander Huang and Maureen Gleason. The film was to star Huang and Gleason in leading roles. According to Huang, "It will definitely be something new for the studio: a short slice-of-life taking place in the present day with ordinary people. We're planning to work with a skeleton crew comprised of Pranshu Parmar, Matt Reinhard, and Eric Schlicker. Cast will be minimal." Due to scheduling conflicts, the project was shelved indefinitely in August. Spring 2015: HEAT-SHOCK A mock trailer for the scientific thriller HEAT-SHOCK (starring Root of Evil ''actors Thomas Donlon and Matt Reinhard) was filmed over five days in the spring of 2015. Made for a University of Minnesota biology project, the trailer for ''HEAT-SHOCK debuted on Facebook on April 15. Plans for a full cut of the film (taken from an excess of footage from the shooting of the mock trailer) are indefinite but in place. Summer 2015: The Woman in the Mirror In December 2014, it was announced that pre-production of a short biographical film starring Ella Rasp, The Woman in the Mirror, had begun. Principal photography began in July of 2015, with the majority of shooting concluding in mid-August. Final reshoots were completed in late October. Though two documentaries have been made on the subject, The Woman in the Mirror ''is the first-ever biopic featuring street photographer Vivian Maier. Editing, color grading, and scoring was completed in 2017, and the film began screening on the festival circuit in late 2017. Winter 2015: ''Sad Waltz Production on a new short film began in late November of 2015. Described by director Ryan Huang as a "pictorial tone poem", Sad Waltz ''is composed entirely of still photographs set to music in a manner similar to Chris Marker's 1962 film ''La Jetée. ''The film stars Noah Causey and Maureen Gleason, both actors in the University of Minnesota's Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program. It premiered in December 2015 at the U of M and screened at the Santa Barbara Fine Arts Film Festival. Future projects Two ''Vail: Original Series ''episodes and one nature documentary were in the early stages of development. As of February 2016, these projects have been pushed back indefinitely. The screenplay for a mystery-thriller set on Minnesota's North Shore is in development. Titled ''Watching the Salmon Run, it is to be the studio's next feature-length project and is slated for 2017-2018. Early 2016: Expansion to Southern California In January 2016, the studio expanded its base of operations to Los Angeles, California. As of Summer 2016, films have continued to be produced in both the Los Angeles area as well as Minnesota. Aborted company name change On February 25, 2016, a proposal was made to rename Flaming Gnome Studios to Flaming Gnome Pictures to better reflect its status as an independent film production company. Due to the logistical complexity of implementing the name change throughout the company's past and present media (as well as calls to preserve the traditional name that had persisted for a decade), the alteration was reversed. Sequel to The Root of Evil In March 2016, Huang began writing the sequel to the 2014 feature film The Root of Evil ''as a novella. Entitled ''Dead Agent's Nocturne (formerly Pavane for a Dead Agent), ''the sequel takes place roughly seven months after the events of ''Root. '' The book is to be the second in the so-called ICOSA Trilogy, named after the agency that employs Viktor Boroshlav and his allies. Huang explained: "While ''Nocturne ''is being written from scratch, I will be writing a novelization of ''The Root of Evil ''that will expand on backstories, plot points, and supporting characters that couldn't be included in the film version. The third and final book, ''The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, ''will round out the trilogy. My hope is to eventually adapt the second and third books into screenplays and film them with original cast members from ''Root." 48 Hour Film Project Flaming Gnome Studios competed in the Minneapolis division of the 48 Hour Film Project, an international contest in which teams must complete a short film based on given prompts within 48 hours. On June 3rd, the team was randomly assigned the Fable genre and proceeded to write and shoot a short film based on Aesop's "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." The story was developed between 7:30 pm and 4 am on Friday night, with a partial shooting script written within an hour the next morning. Filming was completed between 10 am and 5:40 pm on Saturday with an hour-long lunch break in between. Editing took place between 9:40 pm and 3:00 am on Saturday night and between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Sunday before the final deadline. Titled Wolfsbane, the film stars Quinn Reinhard, Thomas Donlon, and Matt Reinhard. It screened in competition at the Mall of America on June 14th, 2016 and was nominated for an award for Best Musical Score. Summer 2016: Tiger of the White Sun Tiger of the White Sun, a short World War II film dramatizing the Chinese rescue of an American Volunteer Group pilot stranded in no-man's-land, commenced principal photography on August 21st, 2016. The majority of production took place in Pasadena and Malibu Creek State Park in Southern California, with an additional scene being shot at Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Minnesota. The film was completed in 2017; a teaser trailer debuted online in January 2018. Fall 2016: Jared Gibson: Campus P.I. '' The studio's first web series, ''Jared Gibson: Campus P.I., ''was briefly produced at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Presented as a mockumentary-style comedy, ''Campus P.I. ''followed a college student who takes advantage of domestic disputes by offering his services as a private investigator. The series was written and directed by Ryan Alexander Huang and starred Reed Campbell as the eponymous detective. Despite plans to continue production into 2017, the series was ultimately never renewed. Spring 2017: ''Reverallium; Bite the Bullet Two short films produced in part or in association with Flaming Gnome Studios were shot in the spring of 2017: the independent film Reverallium ''and the USC School of Cinematic Arts production ''Bite the Bullet. '' Written by and starring Justin Chien, ''Reverallium is a short drama that tells the story of Kai, a young man who becomes addicted to an enhanced dream drug to cope with a painful breakup. The film begins when Kai's supply of the dream drug runs out. Reverallium ''was produced in association with members of USC's Delta Kappa Alpha film fraternity and directed by Ryan Alexander Huang. The film was completed in late 2017. White Deer Grotto Motion Picture Co. On April 22nd, 2017, the ancillary production company White Deer Grotto Motion Picture Co. was formed by Ryan Alexander Huang. While operating under the Flaming Gnome Studios umbrella, White Deer Grotto functions as a subsidiary specifically dedicated to the production of the studio's narrative short and feature films. The first film released by the company was ''Reverallium, ''a co-production between White Deer Grotto and Triumvir Films. Summer to Winter 2017 A short neo-noir thriller titled ''Between the Groves ''was slated for production for December 2017. Based on a story concept first developed in 2014, the film was to be produced by Sarah Gilman and directed by Ryan Alexander Huang. Plans to begin production on ''Between the Groves in December 2017 were postponed indefinitely due to scheduling conflicts. The short science-fiction film Time Trial ''replaced ''Between the Groves ''in the studio's Winter '17 production lineup and was completed in December. 2018 The screenplay for ''Close Focus, ''a short film following a Korean War combat photographer, was chosen as a finalist in the 2017 Beverly Hills Screenplay Contest. The film is currently in the early stages of development. The short science fiction drama ''Continuum, written by Justin Chien and co-directed by Justin Chien and Ryan Alexander Huang, wrapped principal photography in March 2018. Continuum ''is expected to be completed by Summer 2018 and will be the first co-production between the FGS/WDG group and the newly formed Rogue Shore Pictures. Halik catalogue and acronyms Flaming Gnome Studios uses two systems to catalogue and identify projects in shorthand: the '''Halik catalogue', which assigns a number to each film produced by the studio in chronological order; and a two to four-letter acronym assigned to films for ease of identification throughout production. For a complete list of Halik numbers and acronyms, see the complete Halik catalogue. Studio Library *Note: Only projects that are currently accounted for and within company vaults are listed. Pre-2010 works are therefore omitted. This section will be updated as new works are added. Comics *''In The Communist Lunchroom'' (2010) Docudramas *''Gettysburg (2010) Serials * ''Vail Episode 1: Forgotten Names ''(2011) * ''Vail Episode 2: The Crimes of Yesteryear ''(2011) * ''Ambush: Boroshlav - Ambush at Portofino ''(2011) * ''Ambush: Boroshlav - Ambush at Huntington Harbor ''(2012) * ''Jared Gibson: Campus P.I. ''(2016) Short Films Completed * ''The Elixir of Doom (2012) * The Root of Evil ''(2014) - short version * ''Sad Waltz ''(2015) * ''The Woman in the Mirror ''(2017) * ''Wolfsbane ''(2016) * ''Tiger of the White Sun ''(2017) * ''Reverallium ''(2017) - co-production with Triumvir Films * ''Bite the Bullet (2017) * Time Trial (2017) In development * Silent Trails - in development * Between the Groves - postponed * Close Focus - ''in development * ''Sepulchre (working title) - in development * Play the Hero ''- in development * ''The Cage ''- in pre-production Feature Films *The Root of Evil (2014) *''Watching the Salmon Run ''- in development *''Road Trip Requiem ''- in development *''Pavane for a Dead Princess ''- in development *''Blue Monday ''(working title) - in development Literature The "ICOSA Trilogy" * ''The Root of Evil ''(2016) - novelization, in progress * ''Dead Agent's Nocturne ''(2016) - novella, in progress * ''The Girl with the Flaxen Hair ''(2017) - novella, in development Miscellaneous *''Captain Ryan's Crew ''(2010) - mock trailer *''Men with Guns: Mission 1 ''(2011) * ''A Birthday E-card from Vail and Boroshlav (2011) * Vail: The Special Interviews ''(2011) *Viktor Boroshlav for the Nerf N-Strike Dart Gun Line'' (2011) - mock commercial *''The Viktor Boroshlav Experience (2011) *Another Birthday E-card from Vail and Boroshlav (2012) *''Men With Guns: Secret Footage ''(2012) *A Mother's Day News Conference (2012) *Vail: Episode 3 (2013) - mock trailer *Vail: The Attempted Production of Episode 3 (2014) *HEAT-SHOCK'' (2015) - trailer Undeveloped and unfinished projects * Men With Guns ''(2011) - scrapped * ''Vail Episode 3: A Green Affair (2012) - short film; production halted * The Sessions ''(2014) - short film written by Ryan Huang & Maureen Gleason; production halted * ''HEAT-SHOCK ''(2015) - short film; post production delayed Personnel Permanent * '''Ryan Alexander Huang (2006-present) '''creative director [[Early studio films|Pre-''Vail projects]] * Ryan Alexander Huang (2006-2011) 'comic writer/illustrator, director, writer, actor, editor * 'Jordan Johnson (2006-2010) 'comic writer/illustrator * 'Don Zheng (2010-2011) 'comic consultant, actor * 'D.J. Chatelaine (2010-2011) '''director, writer, actor * 'Pranshu Parmar (2010-2011) '''actor * '''Braden Stork (2011) '''actor * '''Preston Smith (2011) '''camera operator ''Vail ''series * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2011-present; series on hiatus) 'director, writer, actor, camera operator, editor ** Viktor Boroshlav (fictional actor) ** Charlie Kamper (fictional actor) ** Zach Justberg (fictional actor) * '''Allen Huang (2011-2012) '''actor * '''Sarah Huang (2011-2012) '''actor * '''Nicole Huang (2012) '''actor * '''Carrie Huang (2012) '''actor * '''Kylen Yu (2012) '''actor ''The Elixir of Doom * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2012) '''director, writer, actor, camera operator, editor * 'Maureen Gleason (2012) 'actor * 'Joshua Dub (2012) 'actor * 'D.J. Chatelaine (2012) 'actor * '''Michael Mulet (2012) '''cinematographer, visual artist * '''Miles Mulet (2012) '''camera operator, actor, visual artist ''The Root of Evil '' * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2012-2014) 'director, writer, actor, cinematographer, editor * 'Maureen Gleason (2012-2014) 'first assistant director, actor * 'Thomas Donlon (2013-2014) 'actor * 'Joshua Dub (2012-2014) 'actor * 'Jackson Anderson (2014) 'actor * 'Albert Rysavy (2013-2014) 'actor, lighting technician * 'Luke Owens (2013-2014) 'actor * '''Jacob Hellevik (2013-2014) '''actor, lighting technician * 'D.J. Chatelaine (2012-2014) 'actor * 'Jillian Stout (2013) 'actor * '''Joseph Nelson (2012-2014) '''actor * 'Haaken Bungum (2013-2014) 'actor * 'Eric Schlicker (2013-2014) 'actor * '''Logan Johnson (2013-2014) '''actor * '''Josh Weisenburger (2013-2014) '''actor * '''Quinn Reinhard (2013-2014) '''actor * '''Ethan Pick (2014) '''actor * '''Thomas Borgerding (2014) '''actor * '''Pranshu Parmar (2013-2014) '''second assistant director, actor * '''Miguel Mulet (2012-2014) '''camera operator, technical advisor * '''Michael Mulet (2013-2014) '''camera operator * '''Miles Mulet (2013-2014) '''camera operator, actor * '''Al & Lydia Huang (2012-2014) '''producers ''HEAT-SHOCK * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2015) '''director, writer, actor, cinematographer, editor * 'Thomas Donlon (2015) '''actor *Matt Reinhard (2015) actor *Jessica Friedman (2015) actor *Maureen Gleason (2015) actor, camera operator *Albert Rysavy (2015) actor, boom operator *'Jacob Hellevik (2015) '''actor, sound mixer *'Jackie Warehime (2015) 'slate, boom operator *'Qahir Lakha (2015) 'slate *'Paul Cho (2015) 'camera operator ''The Woman in the Mirror * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2015) '''director, writer, cinematographer, editor, actor * '''Ella Rasp (2015) '''actor * 'Thomas Donlon (2015) 'first assistant director, camera operator, actor * 'Pranshu Parmar (2015) 'second assistant director, slate, BTS camera operator * 'Jessica Friedman (2015) 'third assistant director, color grading * '''Harrison Kuhn (2015) '''assistant cinematographer, camera operator * 'Albert Rysavy (2015) '''boom operator, production sound mixer * '''Jackie Warehime (2015) '''utility sound technician, slate * 'Matt Reinhard (2015) '''slate, BTS camera operator * '''Nicholas Beck (2015) '''actor * '''Miles Mulet (2015) '''composer * '''Al & Lydia Huang (2015) '''producers ''Sad Waltz * 'Ryan Alexander Huang (2015) '''director, writer, cinematographer, editor * '''Noah Causey (2015) '''actor * 'Maureen Gleason (2015) 'actor * '''Al & Lydia Huang (2015) '''costumes, photography ''Wolfsbane * '''Ryan Alexander Huang (2016) '''director, co-writer, cinematographer, editor * '''Quinn Reinhard (2016) actor, co-writer * Thomas Donlon (2016) 'actor, co-writer * 'Matt Reinhard (2016) 'actor * 'Pranshu Parmar (2016) '''first assistant director, production sound mixer * '''Harrison Kuhn (2016) '''assistant cinematographer * '''Al Huang (2016) '''producer, production sound mixer ''' * '''Lydia Huang (2016) '''costume designer * '''Chris Reinhard (2016) '''production assistant